Then the Lion Fell for the Badger
by wildflower031
Summary: On October 31, 1981 the Boy-Who-Lived lost his parents, it just so happens that Alma Hagrid lost her parents on that same night as well. Coincidence? Not really, you see Alma and her family was there that night when Lord Voldemort came, leaving no survivors in his path except Harry and Alma. Follow Alma's story as she travels to Hogwarts to be raised by her uncle Hagrid.
1. Chapter 1

**I don't own Harry Potter, that's all J.K. Rowling.**

Chapter 1

There is a famous quote: When you lose a loved one the pain never gets easier you just learn to live with it. During the spring of 1998 loved ones surrounded me but they weren't standing by my side, they were laying on the ground their eyes frozen open and their skin cold and stiff. It was the same scene that I found myself in when I was only three years old.

I'm getting a little ahead of myself however, I suppose I should start at the beginning.

My mother's name was Raena Shacklebolt she was the niece of Kingsley Shacklebolt who was one of the most high-ranking Auror's in the Ministry of Magic. Although Kingsley wasn't in the original Order of the Phoenix many called my mother a brave soul and she joined when she was only 18 while also working at the Ministry of Magic herself. When she joined the Order of the Phoenix she met my father who's name was Solomon Hagrid, the half brother of Rubeus Hagrid who was Keeper of Keys and Games at Hogwarts of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

People said it was love at first sight and after knowing and then dating each other for only two years they eventually were married, then I came along a few short months later in the spring of 1978. My name is Alma Aria Hagrid, although most might know me by the alias of the Girl-Who-Saw.

I know it is the worst name ever but I can't help it; that is what people started calling me after I witnessed the events that happened on the fateful day that changed everyone's lives, at least for thirteen years.

_October 31, 1981_

_My father was driving my mother and I to my Godparents house in order for me to trick or treat in their neighborhood and so that they could see my costume. My parents still believed that I was to young to apparate and because of where we were going we couldn't use the floo network or a portkey._

_My parents were smiling and laughing as they discussed something that was said between Albus Dumbledore and Arthur Weasley as they discussed muggle sweets when I interrupted. "Mum do you think I'll be able to play with the baby?"_

_My mother twisted around in her seat to smile at me, "I'm sure if he's awake you'll be able to hold him darling, but remember that he is only one so he might already be sleeping by the time we get there." I nodded and smiled as I ran a hand down the length of my costume. I had decided to dress as a phoenix since I was basically the unofficial mascot of the Order of the Phoenix._

_My parents took me to every meeting and you could always find me playing tag with Remus Lupin, sleeping against Sirius Black while he was in his animagus form, or playing hide and seek with Peter Pettigrew –not to mention he cheated by hiding inside of walls-, or in the kitchen "helping" Molly Weasley cook when in reality Mrs. Weasley simply enchanted pots and pans to make a type of Simon says game of sorts to keep me busy and out of her way._

_It wasn't long until we pulled up along the curve of a particularly warm looking cottage in Godric's Hollow -although to muggles the space where it laid appeared to be an empty lot- light poured out of every window and two small jack-o-lanterns laid on the doorstep. The car had barely stopped when I had already threw off my seatbelt and jumped out of the car not at all registering the warning my mother gave me to watch out for the slick autumn leaves that littered the small pathway to the house._

_I probably should have listened because at the last second the heel of my red-orange Mary Jane's caught in a rather large clump of wet leaves and slid my body forward sending me face first into the front door causing a loud bang to be heard and the windows situated on each side of the door to rattle. I was sitting on the ground cupping my nose with my hand and trying to hold the tears in when the front door was unlocked and a tall woman with thick dark red hair and almond shaped green eyes looked down at me smiling._

"_Aunt Lily…" I looked up at her with dots of tears in the corner of my eyes and my lower lip quivering. "Oh Alma, I have a feeling even though you're older, my little Harry will have to look after you at Hogwarts." She said as she bent and scooped me up in to her arms. I shook my head quickly, "Nu uh it will be me who's looking after him with Uncle Hagrid." She smiled and kissed my forehead, "I'm sure you will." She lowered me to my feet as my parents finally made it to the door, "Lily! You look wonderful dear, you must tell me your secret after this one knocks me up again." My mother exclaimed as she wrapped Lily up in a hug and gestured lightly to my father who stood a little ways away chuckling at my mother's choice of words._

_Lily laughed lightly, "Nonsense, come in you three out of the cold I had just pulled out a batch of cauldron cakes when Alma made her presence known." She laughed again and ushered us all through the door to the house. I instantly ran through the house and to the kitchen and saw James Potter charming the cauldron cakes and the plates in the cupboard to magically sit on the table and three small cauldron cakes to sit on each plate._

_I ran towards him and immediately attached myself to his leg, "Hi uncle James!" He was momentarily startled but then smiled down at me as he put his wand down on the table. He picked me up by my waist and spun me once in the air before setting me down again. "Alma my dear, you look outstanding!" I giggled and gave him a twirl and if you looked closely into the feathers that made up my skirt you could see little sparks go off as I moved. "I'm Fawkes uncle James!" _

_His eyes crinkled in the corners as he smiled at me, "Of course of course dear, and what a lovely little phoenix you make." He said as he handed me a plate, "Would you like to go up and talk to Harry before you go trick or treating?" He said and I nodded vigorously. I quickly scrambled up the stairs until I reached his room and quietly pushed open the door just in case he was napping._

_I tiptoed across the room until I reached his crib and set my plate of goodies on a small table that held a lamp. I walked closer to the bars of his crib, "Haaaarrrryyyyy…" I quietly whispered, his small head turned towards me and I was rewarded with the view of a perfect copy of my aunt Lily's eyes on my uncle James' face. His face spread into a wide smile with all his gums and four small teeth on full display. "Hello Harry, happy Halloween. Would you like me to read to you again?"_

_I smiled as he cooed at me and stretched his small pudgy hands in my direction. I nodded and pulled a chair close to his crib then I ran to the bookcase that was located in the back of the room and took out a worn copy of the tales of Beetle the Bard. I gently slid the book in between the bars of his crib before climbing on the chair and over his bars and plopped down next to Harry._

_I crossed my legs and sat him in my lap and opened the book in front of us. "Now let's see. Maybe we can look at the Fountain of Fair Fortune today." Harry smiled wide and clapped his tiny hands together; I smiled at him and began to read._

_We were only half way through the story when a large crash could be heard from downstairs, if Harry wasn't in my lap I was sure I would have jumped several feet into the air. There was yelling downstairs and what sounded like my father and uncle James telling someone to leave. A few minutes later frantic running could be heard coming up the stairs and a second later my mother and Aunt Lily burst through the door looking visibly shaken and very scared._

_Lily immediately scooped Harry up from my lap and was murmuring something to him that I couldn't hear; all the while my mother had taken me in her arms and was speaking to me softly. "My sweet Alma, I'm so sorry, I should have told you that there may come a time where your father and I would have to leave you, but just remember we will always be with you. When the sun rises and sets, when the wind blows through your hair, and whenever you need a friend. We will always be there, remember that." By this point tears had begun their descent down her cheeks, I was young and I couldn't understand what she meant at the time and I began to cry because my mother who was always the epitome of comfort for me was crying. "Mommy what are you saying?" I said as I gripped her shirt. She shook her head and handed me to Lily who had already put Harry back into his crib._

_I didn't want to let go of my mother and although I didn't understand exactly what was happening at the time I knew that it was something big and horrible. Lily wrapped her arms around me and hugged me close as I breathed in her smell of warmth and chestnuts. "Alma I am sorry to give you so much responsibility when you're still so young but I must give you a very important task." She paused as she looked into my eyes and I was able to commit the color to memory. "I ask that you watch over Harry just like we've always talked about and be the sister that he will never have."_

_I nodded slowly, "Of course aunt Lily but where are you and mommy going?" She never answered simply smiled at me and gently kissed my forehead before setting me back in to Harry's crib. Then at the same time my mother and Lily both brought their wands out of their sleeves and began to speak low melodic words and waved their hands over the crib. They had just finished when the door to Harry's nursery was blown open; they quickly whirled around and pointed their wands at a black-cloaked figure that had stepped into the room. _

"_You stay away from our children Tom!" My mother screamed at the figure. The hood jerked in the direction of my mom and a low hissing could be heard, "How dare you! Miserable blood traitor!" Barely a second had passed before a bright green light filled the room and hit my mother in the chest and she crumpled to the ground._

"_Raena!" Lily had run to my mother and kneeled beside her and stroked her hair softly. "Mommy!" I screamed. Lily kneeled before the cloaked figure and slowly laid down her wand. "Please not Harry… take me, kill me instead—"_

"_Step aside Mud Blood, this will be your first and only warning." Lily backed up until her back was pressed to the bars of the crib. "Not Harry! Please… have mercy… leave them alone! Please… I'll do anything." A moment later another flash of green lit the room and Lily was laying face down on the carpeted floor. I scooped Harry into my arms and tried to shield him as much as I could. The cloaked man lifted his wand and I could only mutter one word, "Please…" Before the green light once again filled the small room, however, time seemed to move in slow motion as I saw the jet of green move towards us aiming straight for the infant in my arms. I watched as it got closer but instead of touching and killing Harry it simply slid across his skin and made an odd zigzag shape on his forehead before it traveled to me and slid across my skin as well. It traveled up my chest to my face and lingered shortly around my eyes until it shot back to the cloaked figure. To me all of this felt like 500 years but in reality it couldn't have been longer than a few seconds as an animal-like wail filled the air and the figure suddenly disappeared. I exhaled a breath that I didn't know I was holding and after confirming Harry was okay I collapsed on the small mattress. _

I'm not really sure who found us, all I know is that we were split up. Harry was sent to live with his muggle aunt who lived in a muggle neighborhood; then there was me. I thought there were countless people I could have gone with but it turns out there weren't. I thought I could go with Remus but because of his condition he said it wasn't safe for me. I tried Sirius next but before my eyes he was arrested and brought to Azkaban for a crime I knew he would never commit. The same day Peter disappeared; although I would never want to live with him anyway. I didn't want to ask Mrs. Weasley because of all the children they had it was way more than cramped at the burrow. Then I tried my uncle Kingsley but because of his job of being an Auror he said that it was too dangerous for me to stay with him. That left only one person: uncle Hagrid. Everyone had decided that it was the safest place, after all there is no place in the world safer than Hogwarts, especially because of how widespread I was known now. Word spread quickly about the Boy-Who-Lived and even quicker about the Girl-Who-Saw. There were many people and reporters that constantly followed me about, hoping to fully understand what had happened that night, but I couldn't even understand what exactly had happened all that I was able to understand was that because I was touched by the killing curse my eyes had turned a startling shade of green.

The hordes of people following me had gotten so bad that Dumbledore himself had to address the public and tell them that I would be under his protection at Hogwarts. So instead of being raised around people in the small hallways of my childhood home, I was raised around many different kinds of magical creatures and in the long and ever-changing corridors of Hogwarts School. By the time I had gotten my letter I had made friends with the mermaids in the Black Lake, many different friends with the various creatures that occupied the Forbidden Forest, and the professors and the house-elves that taught and worked at Hogwarts had become my surrogate family.

Anyway, now that I have gotten you up to speed about my past it's time I told you about my future, and about the boy I met in the winter of my third year who gave me another reason to start fighting back.

**Thanks so much for clicking on this fanfic this is in fact my very first story on here so I really hoped you liked it! I hope to get some reviews from you guys soon! Until next time!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Review Replies:**

**So someone reviewed my last chapter but they were anonymous so to that person, we will eventually see how Hagrid is as a parent but then again this is Hagrid we're talking about. He's friends with centaurs and he knows how to take care of dragons and Hippogriffs, a kid… not so much.**

**I don't own Harry potter, that's J. K. Rowling. If I did Fred, Lupin, Tonks, Hedwig, Cedric, Dobby, and Harry's parents wouldn't have died… and maybe Moody I'm still debating.**

Chapter 2

I was visiting my uncle Kingsley over the summer but he ended up being called to go on a mission with Alastor Moody, leaving me to look after his estate and to practice the various types of defensive spells he had been teaching me all summer. After I told him that I wanted to join the Order when I was finished with Hogwarts he simply nodded and spoke in his low melodic voice, "Very well."

I was anxious to learn as much as I could because I knew that Harry Potter would have started his first year. However the couple of months that counted as summer turned into a few more months when I noticed that the leaves began to change colors. Kingsley had instructed me to wait at his home until he returned and not only was I getting anxious about missing so many of my classes –although professor McGonagall was owling me my lessons and work- I was nervous to see Harry again. After all it had been ten years and he probably couldn't even remember me, if anything he's probably heard of me by now after all whenever someone tells the story about the Boy-Who-Lived the story about the Girl-Who-Saw comes right after it.

It was toward the end of October and I had been practicing my patronus charm, it frustrated me to no end that I could only produce an incorporeal patronus although I had been owling Professor Quirrell –who was unlucky enough to get the position as the Defense Against the Dark Arts instructor- and he constantly told me that a corporeal patronus is one of the hardest things to do and most wizards and witches go their whole lives without even being able to cast an incorporeal patronus.

After I would read his letters I would simply shake my head and toss them aside. Both my mother and my father had been able to cast a corporeal patronus –my mother's being an antelope and my father's being an tiger- so I was convinced that I hadn't encountered a happy enough memory in order to make one. Satisfied with my self-proclamation I was closing my book for the day when a silver lynx came through the window of Kingsley's large dining room. It landed in front of me and my uncle's low voice began to speak from it, "Alma, I apologize from keeping you from your studies for so long, but with Harry finally returning to the Wizarding World Dumbledore and I felt it best that you two should stay separated for awhile so that the uproar of his return would cool down before you make your appearance. I'm sorry for lying to you but you must understand that it was for your own protection. I set up a portkey for you to arrive at Hogsmead at 5 pm, don't be late and don't forget your comb." I could instantly imagine him winking at me.

With that the lynx disappeared and it felt like the room had grown ten degrees colder. I wasn't mad at my uncle or Dumbledore for lying to me, but I was upset with them because I couldn't fulfill my promise to Lily as soon as Harry started at Hogwarts. I had been training and soaking up all the knowledge that I could so that I would be able to protect him and once the time came for Harry to return I wasn't even there to know what house he was put in!

I went upstairs and turned right down a small hallway until I reached the small door on my left that usually acted as my room whenever I stayed. My bags had been packed for months since I thought that I'd have returned to Hogwarts ages ago. There was really nothing else for me to do so I simply loaded up all the books that were open and scattered around my room, got my owl Astra settled in to her cage, grabbed the small silver comb that had appeared on my bureau a few days ago, and went back downstairs.

Luckily it was only a few minutes till five, I didn't notice how much time had past while my head was buried in books. It wasn't long till I felt a pull of what felt like a hook fitting itself right behind my belly button and scooping me off the ground along with my belongings.

After a minute or so I began kicking out my legs like I was riding a bicycle the way Dumbledore taught me so that I could land properly just outside of the Hog's Head. I immediately pulled my cloak in tighter as I was reacquainted with the chilly Scottish air.

My uncle's house had definitely lowered my resistance to cold seeing as his various house elves always kept his home toasty, so against my better judgment I walked into the Hog's Head to grab a quick butterbeer. There really was nothing wrong with the inn itself; in fact I felt relatively safe there since I had grown close to Aberforth Dumbledore in my youth. However, I knew that in order to even enter the Hog's Head I usually had to wear a hood over my head, much like the various other patrons that enter.

I grabbed the handle of my trunk and Astra's cage as I slowly opened the creaky door that needed a good oiling and sidestepped a few of the larger clumps of dirt that I knew would dirty the ends of my cloak. I made my way towards the bar where a tall thin man was spit shining glasses. I internally cringe as I stepped closer and was met with bright blue eyes almost completely hidden behind dirty spectacles and a long mane of stringy grey hair.

"Hello Aberforth, I would like a small butter beer, and please hold the spit." I said as I dropped two sickles on the counter and smiled sweetly at him. Aberforth looked up from his task and chuckled once, "Ah Alma, you haven't been around lately, I was almost starting to miss your cheek." He said as he took a small mug off of the shelf above his head and quickly washed it with the _augamenti _charm before walking over to a large and very dusty barrel and filling it with the warm confection.

"Yeah well, with Harry returning Dumbledore wanted to keep me hidden." I said as I rolled my eyes. Aberforth shook his head as he took the two sickles and replaced them with the drink. I quickly wrapped my hands around the mug and shivered softly as it slowly started to warm my nearly frozen fingers.

"Well you know my brother, always thinking he's doing the right thing until he looks up one day and realizes the consequences." I sighed softly as I sipped my drink, knowing the direction his thoughts had taken him. Aberforth had told me about Ariana a long time ago and while my trust in Dumbledore did begin to wane slightly my trust that he could protect me did not.

I was nearly finished with my drink when a cold breeze blew through the pub signaling someone's entry. "Merlin's beard Alma! I've been looking for you everywhere!" I rolled my eyes; I could recognize that monotone voice anywhere. "It's nice to see you too Aelita."

I smiled at the small girl as she pulled out the stool next to me and attempted to climb on top of it, although with her height it took her longer than it should have. By the time she was sitting correctly I couldn't hold back my snicker, however the blow she delivered to the back of my head quickly silenced it.

Aelita Finnigan was a pureblood unlike her brother and was the same age as me –even though she could easily be mistaken for a first year-, she was one of the first few friends I made other than Nymphadora Tonks.

While Aelita had at least one quality from each house –the sorting hat took over an hour to figure out where to place her- she was eventually sorted in to Slytherin. Although she could be loyal like a Hufflepuff, smart like a Ravenclaw, and as courageous as a Gryffindor, she had the temper of a Slytherin and a mouth to match. "You're a git for leaving me alone all this time you know that right?"

"Oh don't be so dramatic and in my defense it wasn't my fault, my uncle and Dumbledore wanted to keep me hidden away for awhile so the commotion about Harry could die down." Aelita rolled her eyes and scoffed, "Yeah because that's worked out so well."

I raised my eyebrow but didn't say anything knowing she was dying to tell me what happened anyways, "Harry is already making a name for himself, you see, he's been made the Gryffindor seeker and he's got into quite a few brawls with a first year from my house. I don't remember the blokes name but I have seen him walking around, he'll be adorable when he's older." She said as she rested her chin in her hand and sighed softly.

I smiled when she said he was a Gryffindor knowing that his parents would be proud and even prouder if they knew that he was a seeker while still in his first year. However I had to do a double take when she explained to me how Harry's been constantly getting into fights, I knew James was a bit rowdy in his youth and I briefly began to wonder if Harry would turn out the same way.

"I've only been gone a month and a half, how could all of this happened?" I said as I sat down my now empty mug and sighed. Aelita jumped off her stool and pulled on my arm, "Well there's nothing we can do now so let's go, it's almost dinner time and Tonks is waiting for us."

I nodded as I jumped off the barstool and gathered my things while Aelita picked up Astra's cage and we made our way out of the Hog's Head waving to Aberforth as the door swung shut behind us. We talked about different things as we made our way down the path that lead to Hogwarts from Hogsmeade, like how Tonks swears how she'll never pass her N.E.W.T.s and become the Auror she always wanted, and how Oliver Wood is constantly bragging about how lucky they were to have Harry as their seeker, and the stunts the Weasley twins had come up with lately that made the castle a very lively place to live.

After awhile we finally arrived at the gates and Mr. Filch and Mrs. Norris met us there to take my luggage and to take Astra to the owlery and get her settled in. Amazingly I was one of the very few students that Filch didn't completely detest and he took my things with only a slight grumble. We made our way through the grounds and past the giant front doors and into the commotion that was the corridor in front of the great hall. Kids were still rushing past us to find seats next to the friends for dinner although some paused when they saw me and waved.

I took a deep breath before I stepped through the doors that lead into the great hall. "HEY EVERYONE! LOOK WHO'S BACK!" Aelita yelled over the dinner table conversations. Everyone's head swiveled in our direction and everything was quiet while it sank in to everyone's head who screamed so loud. Then all at once almost everyone at every table –except Slytherin- stood up and ran towards me. Even the ground and I got reacquainted, as Tonks was the first one to reach me and tackled me into a hug that made us both spiral to the ground. I was bombarded with many questions from various people until Dumbledore touched his wand to his throat so that his voice could boom across the hall. "Settle down."

Once everyone had quieted Dumbledore removed his wand and walked around the staff table to stand behind his golden owl podium. He gestured for me to come forward and I quickly separated myself from a group of Gryffindor girls and jogged through the mob of people that had grown around me until I was finally by Dumbledore's side.

I smiled warmly at him, "Grandpa Albus, it's good to see you." His blue eyes twinkled as he smiled down at me, "You to my darling girl, stay here after dinner I believe there is someone that you're very anxious to meet. Oh and now that a new year has started only call me grandpa when were alone." He said as he squeezed my shoulder and winked at me over his spectacles.

Dumbledore waited while everyone returned to their seats before he spoke again, "Now that our guest of honor is here, let the feast begin." He said as he waved his hands and mountains of food appeared on the tables. I waved to everyone at the staff table as I made my way down the few steps and towards my house table. I would of spotted Tonks even if she wasn't waving crazily at me, by her bright bubblegum pink hair. "So does it feel nice to be back in the presence of Hufflepuffs again?" She said after I sat down. I rolled my eyes, "It's nice to be in the presence of anyone other than my uncle's house elves."

I noticed that Dumbledore must of told the house elves in the kitchen to make all my favorites and as I began to fill my plate the assault of question came. Instead of telling everyone the truth I told everyone that my uncle had been teaching me really advanced spells and he didn't want me to leave until I mastered everything. I cringed slightly on the inside, I didn't normally lie – even though the first part wasn't a lie and he had been teaching me dangerous spells- especially to my friends; after all it wasn't even in a Hufflepuffs nature to lie, but I had a reputation to uphold. Because of my growing up in the castle I knew every nook and cranny. I knew the best places to hide if you're out after curfew, I know which passageway to take if you wanted to sneak into Hogsmeade, I could easily sneak into the restricted section in the library, and every year I'm able to figure out the password to get into each house. Because of my knowledge I'm sought out by many people, you could say my only true friends are Aelita and Tonks; everyone else wants something from me.

After dessert people began to leave, Aelita and Tonks asked if I wanted them to wait for me so we could walk around a little before curfew but I told them to go ahead and that Dumbledore wanted to speak with me. I waved to them as they left; I turned around and walked toward the staff table. All the teachers had left except for Dumbledore, McGonagall, and professor Snape and they were all surrounding three small students. As I came up behind them I cleared my throat softly to make my presence known, McGonagall was the first to turn around as she rushed over and hugged me. "Oh I've missed you Alma."

I smiled as I took in her scent of peppermint and wrapped my arms around her thin shoulders, "I've missed you as well aunt Minerva." Other than Hagrid and Dumbledore, McGonagall was the only other teacher here that truly felt like family. Ever since I was little I would always bring her, her evening tea and she would tell me stories as we drank tea and ate cookies together and sometimes after a really stressful day she would take her hair out of the tight bun it was usually in so that it tumbled down her back like a black and silver waterfall; I would sit and brush her hair for hours.

Minerva gently pushed me forward as Snape and Dumbledore stepped aside and revealed to me two boys and one girl. The girl had a horribly huge mane of bushy brown hair and I made a mental note to look in the library for a hair-taming spell. As I approached her first I could see her begin to hyperventilate. I stuck my hand out for a handshake, "Nice to meet you I'm—" It looked like her eyes were about to jump out of her skull when she interrupted me. "Your name is Alma Hagrid, you're the daughter of Raena and Solomon Hagrid you were born on April tenth making you an Aries, you're blood type is A positive, your family was there the night He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named came and—"

To say I was creeped out that this girl knew so much about me was an understatement, once she began to get into what happened that night I raised my hand to silence her. "You do not need to remind me, I was there." She lowered her head and stared down at her feet as she mumbled a quick apology. I moved on to the boy who was standing next to her that had a head full of bright red hair and a face of freckles to match. I smiled warmly at him, "That red hair, those freckles, and I'm sure you have an appetite that could match a giants; you must be Ron Weasley. How's your mum?"

His mouth dropped, "Blimey, I didn't know my mum knew you. That's brilliant!" I snickered at his enthusiasm, "Oh yes, ask her about me I bet you she'd have a story or two to tell." I said and winked at him. Finally I moved on to the last small boy, I could tell he was too skinny even with his wizarding robes on. My breath caught in my throat as I looked into his face and saw his eyes, I was instantly transported back 10 years as I saw a perfect copy of James Potter's face with Lily Potter's eyes.

My eyes began to water slightly as I gently brought a hand up and stroked his cheek. "It's so good to see you again Harry." As he looked into my eyes I saw him flinch slightly and I knew it was because of the color, I wouldn't be surprised if the color of my eyes haunted his nightmares. "It's nice to meet you Alma I've heard a lot about you but I need to hear it from you. What really happened that night?"

I smiled softly, "Exactly what everyone has said. The Dark Lord came to your house that night, my family and I were there because your parents were my godparents, and so I could go trick or treating. I was upstairs reading to you while our parents were discussing things that, at the time, I had no interest in when he came. Our fathers were downstairs and they both tried to stall him but it was no use. Our mothers were supposed to escape with us but they weren't fast enough and I saw both of them killed."

I stopped for a second when Harry flinched and I squeezed his shoulder. "Once they were out of his way he tried to kill us both but something happened, I'm not sure what. All I know is that the spell that killed our parents and changed the color of my eyes forever, gave you that scar." I said as I brushed his hair to the side and traced it softly.

Harry's small body was trembling, "So my parents really didn't die in a car crash? They really did want me?" A tear ran down my cheek as I gathered the small boy in my arms, "Of course they wanted you silly, they loved you with all of their hearts." Once his trembling stopped I pulled back to look at him at the same time he looked up at me. "You look so much like your father it makes me want to cry, except for your eyes they're your mothers."

He smiled at me, "That's what I keep hearing." I smiled and ran a hand through his unruly black hair, unfortunately Snape decided to ruin the moment, "While this is a very tear-jerking reunion, it is almost time for curfew and I need to make sure that all the Slytherins are in for the night."

"I suppose you're right Severus well off to bed you four." Dumbledore said before smiling at us as he turned on his heel and left with Minerva and Snape following close behind. Harry bid his friends farewell as they were gone next, leaving Harry and me alone in the Great Hall. "Will I see you around?"

I smiled at him before pulling him in for another hug, "Of course you will I'm assisting Professor Sprout with her Herbology class so you'll see me there, and I'm sure you'll see me around school as well."

He nodded and squeezed my waist softly and stepped away from me, he then waved as he made his way out of the Great Hall. Seeing him again, I was glad I still had a potion Snape had given me for nightmares because I was sure I'd have some that night.

**Hello everyone here's chapter 2! Sorry it's been so long but between looking for collages, working, school, final exams coming and family drama I had a lot on my plate. Anywho make sure you review so I can feel good about myself byee!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed my last chapter I've been trying to stay with the books looks wise but I'm sure sooner or later I'll make references to the movies and since no one has asked any questions I really don't know what to put here sooo… Onward!**

**Chapter 3**

I breathed a small sigh of frustration when I stepped out of Professor Flitwick's charms class. My next class was suppose to be Defence Against the Dark Arts but seeing as how the place where the classroom was located was out of bounds it had been relocated to the transfiguration courtyard on the first floor. On top of everything I was able to switch my DADA class so that I could help Professor Sprout with her first years making this my very first DADA class of the year.

"Alma!" I stopped at the top of the grand staircase when I heard two identical voices call my name at the same time. I turned around as I saw two tall lean boys with flaming red hair and freckles identical to the rest of their family's walking towards me.

"What do you want from me now boys?" I sighed as I started down the staircase knowing full well they would follow me. It was no secret that the mischievous twins were my best customers; they would constantly come to me and ask for favors either to get things through the wards that surrounded Hogwarts or to get themselves out of trouble when they're caught.

"Why whatever do you mean, we just thought a lady of your grace deserves an escort or two. Isn't that right, Georgie?" Fred said as he came on my left side and laced his arm through mine, but seeing as how much taller he was than me looked kind of ridiculous. "Right as the wind, Freddie." George said as he came on my right side and put my other arm through his. We paused to wait for the staircase to change so that it could lead us directly to the first floor.

"Remember who you're talking to guys, you wouldn't have half of the instruments for your pranks if it wasn't for me." I said as we stopped just outside of the transfiguration hall. "Well…" George began while Fred stepped behind me and began to massage my shoulders, I knew immediately they were going to ask for something completely outlandish. "We were just wondering if you could maybe somehow get us a couple of mini rockets."

I pinched the bridge of my nose between my thumb and forefinger; I wished that was the craziest thing they had asked me for. "Really guys, rockets! Really?" Out of the corner of my eye I saw Fred transfigure a quill into a hairbrush and began to brush my hair. "Oh come on Alma its Halloween! We have to celebrate it with a bang!" I walked away from the twins and ran a hand through my hair the way I usually did when I was frustrated.

Although I had to give it to Fred he picked the perfect moment to schmooze, my hair was starting to look a little fierce and not in the good way. I was too busy studying the ends of my hair to notice that a rather tall boy had stepped in my path. The rich smell of vanilla wafted towards me as I tripped over my feet to try and stop myself from running into him.

It obviously didn't work as I catapulted forward and my face smashed against his chest. I thought it would end there but I was sorely mistaken as we fell towards the ground in a very awkward position with me on top. Strong arms wrapped around my waist, as we both gasped slightly in pain, "Are you okay?" I pushed myself on to my hands and knees until I was able to see his face. I was rewarded with the sight of chiseled features and bright grey eyes and I had the distinct feeling that I knew him from somewhere.

"I am so sorry. I mean I'm clumsy by nature and you came out of nowhere, I could have killed you! Like what if you your head had hit the floor the wrong way, I could have given you a concussion!" I rambled on and on and I couldn't tell if it was because of the situation we were in or because his grey eyes were something I could potentially get lost in.

"Professor McGonagall always says I should work on my walking but I always tell her—" He effectively silenced me by covering my mouth with his hand. "I am fine. Are you alright?" He said as he sat himself up and looked with me over with care in his eyes. "Oh yeah I'm fine, it's just you know awkward. I mean not that you're awkward I'm awkward you're gorgeous. Wait what?" During the duration of my incoherent speech he was simply smiling and chuckling at me.

Fred and George chose that moment to return and I could feel more than see their signature Cheshire cat grins spread across their faces. "Heyyy." They said slowly and I felt my cheeks grow warm with embarrassment as they moved to help us up. When we both stood he proceeded to brush dust off of my robes and smiled at me. "Well I guess I'll see you inside Alma." He smiled at me before turning around and walking into class.

My mouth dropped open as he walked away and I turned to the twins, "Do you guys know who that is?" They looked at each other before looking back at me and snickering.

"That's Cedric Diggory, I'm surprised you don't know him. He's in your house after all and apart of your quidditch team," George said. "Yeah and Oliver said he's guaranteed to become Hufflepuffs next seeker." Fred added on. The twins then proceeded into the classroom and I followed after them. I walked into the grassy courtyard to see a sort of stage set up with four pillars and a podium in the middle. There desks and benches located a little ways away from the stage and students were sitting and chatting to their friends. I caught sight of Cedric sitting towards the back; he was looking at me with a sort of crooked smile that made me instantly smile back.

I was walking towards him to apologize for not knowing his name when I caught sight of a pale man slightly taller than me wearing a purple turban. When he caught sight of me he walked towards me and smiled slightly, at least I thought it was a smile. His eye was twitching so it could have been from the twitch his mouth moved automatically. "W-Welcome A-Alma my n-name is p-professor Quirrell I-I'm sure you h-have many questions f-from your m-many letters y-you owled to me o-over the summer." He was stuttering so hard that it was almost impossible to understand him all the while he was wringing his hands nervously, he gave off the impression that someone was after him.

"I'm alright professor, I'm sure that most of the stuff you're going to cover this year I've already learned." His eye twitched while I was talking and something about him began to make me nervous. "O-Of course a-after all y-your uncle is o-one of the best a-a-auror's there are." He smiled at me again before turning around and walking away after his back was turned the nervous feeling turned into full-blown panic as my eyes began to go in and out of focus. I could feel myself start to hyperventilate as I gripped the back of a nearby chair blinking and trying to clear my eyesight. When I looked back up at Quirrell I screamed as my eyes completely stopped working and I could see nothing but darkness. I heard people yelling and running around, trying to figure out what was wrong with me. Students yelled for someone to get Madame Pomfrey and a stretcher. I felt warm hands pick me up and then lay me down on the soft grass as I thrashed around in my blind state. "I'm sorry about this." I heard before someone muttered something and I fell asleep.

**Well here's chapter 3 and I hope you guys enjoyed that little bit of Frozen humor. The weird thing is I couldn't for the life of me find a spell that made someone sleep so I was kind of at a loss for that last sentence, so if you guys find out what it is tell me. Anyways review and I'll see you guys next time. **

**Ya'll come back now ya hear!**


	4. Update

**All right guys so this is just a small update. I recently went to Barnes and Nobles and purchased the entire series so I could go along with the books a little more and I just remembered that the troll and everything happened before Harry's first quidditch match so I'm going to go back and change it in my earlier chapter so once I revise it hopefully it would make a little more sense.**

**Okay that's all I had to say so, bye!**


	5. Chapter 4

**I am so sorry about the wait I wanted to upload over Christmas but I have an apple laptop and apple laptops are stupid and they don't like to connect to the proxy server so…**

**Also I went back to chapter 2 and modified it to make more sense so when you get a chance go back and read that one, all right so onward!**

Chapter 4

**October 31, 1991**

You know that moment when you're on the edge of sleep and awake and you would pay a million bucks just to go back to sleep? I felt exactly like that except I knew that when I opened my eyes I would have the worst migraine ever -I could already feel the thumping behind my eyes-, I could feel the soft sheets under my bare arms and smell the familiar herbs and potions that were frequently used in the infirmary.

I could also feel a presence sitting beside me and I prayed to Merlin or whoever was listening for it to not be who I thought it was. I slowly opened one eye just enough to peek under my lashes to see that it was Harry and not Cedric. I breathed a small sigh of relief as I began to stir and opened my eyes just enough for them to get used to the dim lighting before opening them wider.

"How are you feeling Alma?" Harry said as he pulled the sheets tighter around me. I smiled as the gesture instantly reminded me of Molly Weasley before patting his hand. "I'm fine Harry no need to worry." He looked up at me and I could see care gleaming in his eyes, the sight of it made my heart clench. "Are you sure? Because there was a boy who was here earlier who left just before I came in and he told me to take care of you so I thought something awful must have happened."

I felt the blood drain out of my face, "Harry did the boy have grey eyes and wore Hufflepuff colors?" He nodded slightly confused as to why my demeanor had changed, "Yes and Madame Pomfrey had told me he had been here the entire time. It's almost time for the great feast and you've been here since around noon. A couple of girls were also here but they left right before you woke up."

I pulled the white sheet over my head and groaned, me not knowing his name and then having some kind of vision attack could definitely go down on the list of worst first impressions ever. A few minutes later Harry spoke, "Alma why are you friends with a Slytherin? I mean everyone says that anyone who belongs in Slytherin house turns out to be no good because that was the house You-Know-Who was in."

After he finished I instantly became upset, "Harry Potter you must never speak of such things again. There are stereotypes about all the houses and you're only feeding into the lies if you believe in them. Aelita is one of my best friends and just because she is a Slytherin does not mean she is a bad person. That's the same as the lies the pureblood families tell about muggleborns and half-bloods." Harry lowered his head slightly in shame.

I sighed softly as I squeezed his hand again, "I'm not mad at you Harry I'm mad at the fact that people don't give others a chance because of circumstances that are out of their control. I mean do I look like a weak airhead to you?" I paused as Harry immediately shook his head. "Exactly but that's what almost every house says about us Hufflepuffs, and I can assure you there is always someone somewhere that can prove them wrong. After all not all Hufflepuffs are weak, not every Ravenclaw is stuck up, not every Slytherin doesn't know love, and not every Gryffindor is loyal. What matters Harry is that you are loyal to the side you think is right and that you fight until the very end."

A low clapping could be heard as Dumbledore dressed in orange robes with black trimming came around the corner, his blue eyes twinkling brightly. "I couldn't have said it better myself. Harry could you leave us alone for a moment?" Harry immediately hopped up from the stool that sat next to my bed and nodded, "I'll go ask Madame Pomfrey if it's okay for her to leave." With that he disappeared behind the white curtain that surrounded my bed.

Dumbledore then sat in the stool that Harry had occupied earlier, "Sometimes my dear, it brings tears to my eyes when I hear you talk with so much wisdom. I feel as if I have nothing left to teach you." He said as he randomly pulled a small jar of lemon drops from the sleeve of his robes and proceeded to eat one. "Almost all the wisdom I learned is from you grandpa Albus so I'll always need you." He chuckled softly as he pulled another piece of candy from the jar and handed it to me. "We'll see. Now do you want to tell me what happened in class today?"

I immediately stiffened as a sense of foreboding settled heavy into my stomach, I wanted to tell Dumbledore what I felt when I saw Quirrell but at the same time I couldn't form it into coherent words. "I have a bad feeling about Professor Quirrell. I was fine when I first walked into class but then when our eyes met I immediately began to feel weak but I paid it no mind. Then when Quirrell turned his back my eyesight went in and out of focus before I went completely blind." I stopped to take a breath and shook my head slowly.

"Something is off about him grandpa, I can't really explain it but it likes he's surrounded by bad juju and I don't want Harry or I around him." Instead of laughing at my terminology like anyone else would have Dumbledore paused and seemed to really consider my request. Although I wasn't anywhere close to being a prophet I did have a very strong sense of foreboding.

After a couple of minutes of processing my request Dumbledore breathed a long sigh and tweaked his spectacles slightly, "I understand your weariness and because you're a third year already practicing sixth year spells it is possible for you to skip your Defense Against the Dark Arts class. However, because Harry is still a first year and knows next to anything about our world much less defending himself he will need to stay."

My eyes widened, "But grandpa—" He raised his hand to silence me, "I'm sorry Alma but there isn't an absolute reason why Harry should sit out, you and I both know of the danger he could possibly be in and there will be a time where someone isn't there to protect him." I wanted to scream and throw something but the better part of me knew that he was right so I simply gritted my teeth and nodded.

"Alma, Madame Pomfrey said you're free to leave whenever." Harry said as he jogged across the room back to my bed. "Excellent, Harry could you please escort Alma to the Great Hall?" Dumbledore said as he stood from the stool and ran a hand down his long white beard. Once Harry nodded Dumbledore turned on his heel and left.

"I'm not made of glass you know." I mumbled under breath as I pulled back the sheet and rested my feet on the cold stone of the floor. The migraine I knew was coming finally made itself know after I retrieved my shoes from under the bed and put them on. I stood up only to wobble slightly as it felt like a troll was stomping on my head, "Harry lend me your shoulder for a bit?"

After I wrapped my arm around his shoulders and was able to get some semblance of balance we made our way out of the hospital wing and towards the Great Hall. By the time we had reached the Gryffindor table I was finally able to walk on my own and the migraine had receded some. It was normal for the boys in the Weasley clan to have large stomachs so the sight of Ron stuffing his face didn't gross me out nearly as much as it did when I first saw Charlie Weasley basically inhale an entire roast chicken.

After a few minutes I noticed the absence of a very bushy motor mouth. "Where's that bushy haired girl that's always with you guys?" When I finished talking Harry and Ron both stopped what they were doing, "We heard from Parvati that she been in the girls bathroom crying."

"Why would she be—"

I stopped mid-sentence as Ron choked slightly on his food and I instantly turned my glare on him, "Ronald Weasley what on earth did you do to that girl?" When my voice began to rise in octaves Ron sunk lower and lower into his seat until he almost resembled a puddle of red hair and freckles.

Just then Quirrell sprinted into the Great Hall all the way towards Dumbledore's place at the staff table and then he spoke words I hoped to never hear. "TROLL IN THE DUNGEON! Just thought you ought to know…" Before he fainted to the floor. There was complete silence until Aelita broke it, "Ah hell."

Just like that the silence was shattered by first years screaming, students yelling at how they would capture the troll themselves, and teachers trying to settle everyone down. Dumbledore was finally able to settle everyone down after several firecrackers coming from his wand, "Prefects, please lead your houses to their dormitories and teachers please follow me to the dungeons.

Everyone had begun to file out of the Great Hall in a slight panic and I could hear Percy Weasley in the distance calling for first years, but before they could get a chance to leave I grabbed the back of Ron and Harry's robes, "Where do you boys think you're going?" They both exchanged a glance before Ron answered, "Um leaving…?"

I let go of their robes before placing my hands on my hips and giving them a stern glare, "Oh no you're not, you're coming with me to get that girl."

"But why do we have to come?"

"Because one: you can't go into the girls bathroom you little pervert and two: judging by your reaction her running away and crying like this is your fault!" Sensing that he was obviously losing the argument Ron simply turned red and hung his head. "But what if we run into the troll?" Harry said quietly. Until that moment I didn't realize how terrifying the situation must have been for Harry, because up until a few months he had no idea any of this existed.

"Don't worry Harry troll's are incredibly thick, there is no way that a troll made it into the grounds on it's own, someone obviously let it in and it had to be someone with the knowledge and power to actually take down Dumbledore's wards." Although I didn't say it out loud that last part is the thing that scared me the most.

"Just stay behind me and we'll all sneak out at the same time." After they both nodded we quickly fell into step behind my house. "Hey Alma want to go troll hunting?" Tonks said as she stepped in front of me, her hair had turned a dark shade of purple signaling her mischievous thoughts. "You know I would any other day Tonks but how about doing me a favor? Distract Percy Weasley while I go somewhere really quick."

"Well I guess what are you going to do? And what are those Gryffindor's doing behind you?" I shook my head nonchalantly, "They pissed off one of their friends and right now she's completely unaware of the idiotic being roaming around the school right now so just in case they run into it I'll be escorting them."

"Well alright Percy always did have his eye on me." She said as her hair turned a lighter shade of purple and she winked at me before calling out for Percy and hurrying out after him.

After a few minutes and Tonks had properly engaged and distracted Percy we were already making our way toward the corridor where the girls bathroom was. We were just around the corner when we heard light steps. I quickly cast a disillusionment charm as Professor Snape rounded the corner and ran right past us not even paying attention. "Snape's heading for the third floor!" Ron whispered. I quickly turned around to glare in Ron's direction, "We will talk about that later you two." After I finished talking I smelled the foul stench of garbage and what smelled slightly like sewage. "Don't move you two."

The first thing I saw was its shadow before it walked into the corridor at the end of the hall. Once it came into view I had to place my hands over the boys' mouths to keep in their gasps of surprise.

It was easily twelve feet tall with dull gray skin. Its body was horribly disproportioned with long arms and large floppy ears. It's thundering steps slightly shook the cobblestones on the ground and a large wooden club was dragging behind it. As we stood completely still taking in the sight of the troll it had walked up to a door at the end of the hall. It peered in and wagged its long ears before entering.

"Oh shit…" I cancelled the disillusionment charm as I turned toward the boys who both were wearing shocked expression, I wasn't sure if it was because of the sight of the troll or my language. "Alright so the troll just went into the girls bathroom, so here's the plan: I'll go in first and take care of the troll while you get her out got it?" After they both nodded a scream rang out into the hall.

All three of us sprinted to the door as we reached it the boys stayed just outside as I pushed the door open only to walk in to a complete wreck. Stalls weren't stalls anymore but large pieces of wood and porcelain scattered all over the ground, as were sinks. I could see a small brown and black figure huddled against the back wall, she was staring up at the troll as it began to lift its club. I quickly picked up a back part of a toilet and hurled it at the troll, it hit square in it's back although it clearly wasn't phased by it. It turned around blinking stupidly and began to make its way towards me as out of the corner of my eye I saw Ron and Harry slip through the door and make their way towards Hermione. I was distracting it with a stinging hex when Ron slipped on a piece of porcelain somehow resulting in breaking two more sinks off the wall. The troll began to lose interest in me as it turned around towards the three first years. I quickly went through all the spells I had gone through over the summer, as it roared and began stomping closer and closer to them as all three let out high-pitched screams.

"_Duro!"_ My voice rang out through the bathroom as a gray steam shot from my wand and hit the troll in the back of the head. It stopped in it's tracks as its arms started to turn to stone until eventually the troll that had stood there a few minutes ago was now a statue made completely of stone. I quickly walked around the new statue to sit in front of the three first years.

I gently grabbed Hermione's chin to get a better look at her face, "Are you hurt anywhere?" Before she could answer me frantic running could be heard just before McGonagall, Snape, and Quirrell burst through the bathroom door. McGonagall gasped in shock at the sight of the troll and even Snape took a step back from the sight he saw, while Quirrell simply sat down on a toilet clutching at his heart (I was surprised he didn't faint again).

"What on earth do you four think you're doing in here?" I could tell that McGonagall was furious but before I could open my mouth Hermione spoke up from behind me. She explained how she had gone looking for it and how she thought she could handle it on her own and if we hadn't shown up she'd be dead.

After ten years of hearing McGonagall rant and yell I got pretty good at tuning her out so after what I assume was a very stern talking to with the loss of house points following I tuned back in at the sound of my name. "And you Alma will follow me to my office." All three of them tried to jump to my defense but McGonagall wouldn't hear of it. "Follow me Alma."

She turned around and set a fast pace that I had to basically sprint to keep up with. Thankfully it wasn't long till we reached her office, the fireplace was already blazing as we stepped through the threshold. As she walked around her desk she gestured for me to sit down and once I did she relaxed back in her chair. Another thing I learned after ten years with McGonagall: always let her say her part first.

"What you did was one of the most irresponsible things I've ever seen you do Alma. Helping first years sneak away when the school was under lockdown? How could you be so dense?" After she finished talking I waited a few moments just to make sure she was really done before I spoke up.

"Aunt Minerva it was never my intention to put those kids in danger especially if it was Harry Potter you know that. If anything I thought what I did was completely responsible, those boys were going to go after that girl even without me but at least I was there. If I wasn't all three of them would be dead."

When I was finished she did the last thing I expected her to do at a time like this: she smiled. "Exactly and that's why I'm giving you twenty points for your outstanding wit, however house points isn't the only thing I brought you here to discuss. You've proven from a young age that you have outstanding skills in handling different creatures and what you just did with that troll has confirmed it. I'd like for you to become the new Care of Magical Creatures professor."

My jaw dropped as I realized what she had just said, "Right now?!" McGonagall laughed as she reached into a jar that rested on top of one of her many bookshelves, pulled out a cookie and handed it to me. "Of course not dear, by the time you're a sixth year you'll be way past your NEWTs so if you like you could take them early and instead of going onto your seventh year you could start your career here."

I would never forget the startled look on her face as I jumped up from my seat and wrapped my arms around her thin shoulders in a tight hug. "Thank you Aunt Minny."

"Oh goodness dear you can go back to your dormitory now but only if you never call me that again." Even though she said it sternly I could see the gentleness in her eyes that let me know she had no intention of punishing me even if I did say it again.

I giggled and walked across the room towards the door I opened it before turning around towards her again, "Goodnight Aunt Minny." I could barely see her rolling her eyes from across the room, "Goodnight Alma."

As I was walking towards the kitchen to get to the entrance of my dorm it occurred to me that I had completely forgotten to ask why Ron and Harry were worried about the third floor…

**Wow that was a long one sorry about the wait but I put a lot of action and surprises in this one to make up for it. **

**I kind of wanted to wait a little longer to announce Alma's future position in the school but you know how it goes when stories start to write themselves.**

**Anywho Review, favorite, follow, all that jazz. **

**Until next time!**


	6. Chapter 5

**First off HUGE thanks to DragonGirl129, your comments were totally the bee's knees and they definitely made my day. Thanks for finding inspiration in my work. 3**

**Anyways I own nothing! That's all J.K. Rowling **

**Chapter 5**

As October came to a close November took it's place bringing along with it a chill that covered the Scottish mountains around the school in frost and the Black Lake to turn into what looked like a black sheet of glass.

November also brought Quidditch season. Then to add fuel to the fire the first match was between the two biggest rivals in the school: Gryffindor and Slytherin. Apparently it had been a secret that Harry was supposed to be the new Gryffindor seeker but of course someone let it leak and I've had to tell off more than one person for talking about how he'd be a disaster.

Even more than that Hermione began to stick to me like glue; I suppose that's a side effect from saving someone's life, I noticed Hermione also getting along a lot better with Ron and Harry. If I was being honest with myself she was rather nice company when she wasn't listing off random facts about your life that only you thought you knew. She was extremely smart for her age and she kind of reminded me of myself when I was younger and so eager to learn something new.

During the week before the quidditch match I had been trying to convince Harry that seekers did often get hurt but it was almost never as serious as everyone made it out to be but of course every single time I had almost gotten Harry's courage up enough to actually want to play someone passing by always said something negative which resulted in him losing his confidence and me starting all over again.

The day before the Quidditch match I was outside with Ron, Harry, Aelita, and Hermione doing some light reading while they were huddled around a fire. I had introduced them to her a couple of days after the incident with the troll and while Harry and Hermione got on with her fine it was Ron she had a problem with. She constantly called him a dunderhead and she was convinced that he would be an idiot when he got older. I of course always said something to her about putting a filter on her words but then Ron would always have some idiotic comeback proving Aelita's point.

They were in another one of their "debates" when Snape cut through the yard where we were residing. He was limping terribly and for a second I felt bad for him until he saw us and began making his way in our direction, and by the look on his face I could tell he was in the mood to take points.

When his eyes locked on Harry that's when I quickly closed my book and jumped up to stand in front of them in a sort of defensive position with Aelita next to me doing the same. "Can we help you professor Snape? You're limping terribly, have you gone to see Madame Pomfrey?" Aelita said.

He glared at Aelita before standing up straighter to see over our heads at the three Gryffindor's. "What have you got there Potter?" Harry was just about to show him the book Hermione had given him for Quidditch when Aelita spoke up again. "It's nothing professor Snape just a box of biscuits Alma was given in the kitchen." At that moment I thanked my lucky stars that Aelita was in Slytherin knowing Snape wouldn't question one of his Slytherins nor take away any points from her.

He simply pursed his lips before pushing Aelita and I to the side and getting a full view of the book Harry was holding. "No books are to be taken out of the school, five points from Gryffindor." He said before he snatched the book out of Harry's hand and tucked it under his arm before turning around and limping back towards the school.

"I swear if he wasn't my Head of House and a teacher here I would chew him up and spit him out." Aelita said as she flipped the bird in the direction Snape disappeared to. I rolled my eyes before turning around and picking up my book that rested on the ground. "I wonder what's wrong with his leg?" I shrugged, "Who knows you probably shouldn't worry about it. Anyways you should get some rest Harry you have a big day tomorrow." I said before I ruffled his hair and turned back towards the school, my intention was to go to my dorm to retrieve a few books that I needed to return to the library. I had already walked into the kitchen, waving at a few house elves that I passed before I came up to a wall of barrels that made up the entryway to my dorm.

I had just finished tapping on the barrels with my wand when someone came running out of the door smashing right into me and sending me sprawling to the floor and gasping at the weight that bared down on me. "We have got to stop meeting like this."

I opened my eyes and the first thing I saw was the stormy grey eyes that I was beginning to think were haunting me and as my eyes focused I could do nothing but stare at his chiseled features. After a second I realized our roles had been reversed with me on the bottom and him draped across me supporting his weight on his elbows. I could already feel the warmth building in my cheeks.

But of course it's always around him that my brain just loved to shut off and let my mouth wander. "My butt agrees with you." I mentally face-palmed. Cedric chuckled as he sat back on his knees before standing up and offering me his hand. As I took it and stood up to brush dirt off my bottom I noticed the eerie silence that filled the room. The kitchen was one of the most lively places in the entire castle of Hogwarts with bunches of elves bustling around getting ready for the next meal, so seeing all the gigantic eyes of the elves staring at us made me take a step behind Cedric to hide from all the bulging eyes.

"There's nothing to see here ladies and gentleman, move along." Cedric said in a stern tone of voice but anyone could see the gentleness in his eyes that made the order a lot less threatening. All at once the elves began working again and Cedric turned to look at me, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine why were you running out of the dorm like that anyways?" Now it was Cedric's turn to blush, "I'm assisting Professor Sprout this year and I completely forgot to tend to the plants in the greenhouse today." I shrugged, "Oh that's nothing I assist her with her classes during the day and because I didn't have much to do today I already took care of some of them."

Cedric smiled his crooked smile at me, "Well would you like to come I could use another person to keep me warm in there." I felt my entire face flush, "Oh um okay…" I wondered if he took that another way the same as I did but then I looked at that adorable smile of his and I dismissed the thought. I was the connection, the go between, and a protector; I didn't have time for a relationship.

We were making our way out of the school and toward the greenhouses when I thought of something, "Hey Cedric, are you going to the Quidditch game tomorrow?" We arrived at the greenhouse and he opened the door for me before answering, "I haven't really thought about it. The players on Hufflepuff don't really go to the other games because in a way it's cheating because you're seeing how the team plays and assessing their skills so most don't go because they don't think it's fair."

"What about you Alma are you going?" I nodded, "It's Harry's first game and I'd be upset if I missed it. You should come Cedric." He shook his head, "I'm assisting Professor McGonagall at the same time the game starts but maybe I'll swing by afterwards and you can tell me all about it when I walk you to the Great Hall for dinner."

At that moment I was glad Cedric's back was turned as he was to busy fiddling with a Fanged Geranium plant to see my blush. After a flow of different conversations and Cedric tending to the various types of plants we were finally walking back to the castle when Cedric asked me a question.

"So what are you doing for Christmas Alma?" I stayed quiet for a second to think. "Well my parents left an estate and several house elves to me in their will and every few years I visit to check on the place and to see if there are any renovations that need to be done, and I suppose this will be one of those years. But I don't stay there the entire time so I suppose after a few days I'll return and enjoy the Christmas feast here. What about you Cedric?"

He told me how he was planning to return home to enjoy the holidays with his parents, "I'll be sure to send you a present Alma." I smiled softly at him, "You don't have to get me anything Cedric I'll be fine." He started shaking his head before I was even finished speaking, "Just think of it as a gift to celebrate our new friendship." I shook my head and smiled but didn't say anything.

"So are you going to dinner?"

"No I think I'm just going to go to bed, I'll see you tomorrow." Cedric waved to me as he turned towards the Great Hall and I headed the opposite way for the dorm. Most people didn't know where the entrance to the kitchen was except for the house elves and Hufflepuffs and as I reached the top step of the staircase I came upon a large portrait of a bowl of fruit. There was a dull green pear hidden far into the back on the left side, I reached my hand forward and tickled it until it transfigured into a doorknob.

My last thought as I climbed through the entrance to my dorm room and was walking up to the room that I shared with Tonks and a few other Hufflepuff girls was surprisingly about Cedric and not worrying about Harry like I knew I should.

As I walked into the Great Hall the next morning instead of going to the Hufflepuff table I went and sat next to Harry at the Gryffindor table. "Are you excited Harry?" He didn't answer and after a few minutes Hermione turned to me, "He won't even eat Alma, do you think you could talk to him?" I sighed as I turned to Harry and patted his back gently, "Harry I have a friend who's the seeker for Hufflepuff and I've talked to him about your fears. He swore that it is scary the first match but once you get outside and up on your broom he said it won't even bother you anymore."

Harry looked up at me with hope shining in his green eyes, "Really? Will it really be okay?" I laughed and patted his back once more, "Of course it will, you're going to play Quidditch not going to war." Harry smiled before laughing along with me. "Now you have to eat before the game, you need your energy." I said as I took his plate from him and shoveled a little of everything on to it. I could tell Harry still didn't feel like eating but he took a few bites of sausage, I'm sure to put us at ease.

At eleven o'clock I was in the stands sitting with Hermione, Ron, a small pudgy boy named Neville who had a real gift for Herbology, another boy named Dean, and Aelita, although she was getting dirty looks from both houses. People were holding up posters and signs that had Harry's name on them and it warmed my heart knowing that when he saw them he would have the courage that he needed.

It wasn't long until both teams came out of their locker rooms and approached Madame Hooch who was refereeing the game. She spoke about how she wanted a fair game while also eyeing up the Slytherin team knowing they'd be the most likely to cheat. They all mounted their brooms and at the sound of Madame Hooch's whistle they were off.

A Gryffindor girl named Angelina was the first to take the Quaffle and slowly after that I stopped paying attention. The real reason why I loved going to Quidditch games was because of the atmosphere. People would scream, shout, and cheer making the game have a very serious but at the same time fun atmosphere. After awhile I felt thundering steps slightly shake the wooden stands before I smiled; I knew those steps anywhere.

"Uncle Hagrid you came?" I said as I smiled up at the enormous hairy man that had joined our little party. "Bin watchin' from me hut but I decided to come and join ye'." He said as Ron and Hermione scooted down just enough for him to squeeze in. We sat there talking for a moment about the game when we all looked in time to see a small flash of gold zoom through the sky and Harry following closely behind it.

He came so close to catching it until Marcus Flint blocked Harry causing an eruption of angry yells from the Gryffindors and even a few curse words from Aelita. Then Dean began to speak about the fouls in a muggle sport called soccer and how they should have been applied here. However I wasn't listening because out of the corner of my eye I saw Harry's broom did a dangerous lurch.

I blinked a few times thinking it was my eyes playing tricks on me but as I gazed at him for a little while longer I saw his broom do it again. "Let me see those Uncle Hagrid." I said as I pointed at his giant pair of binoculars. He handed them over to me without saying anything, his attention still too into the game to notice Harry's broom. I looked through the binoculars to confirm what I was seeing, and indeed, Harry's broom began to slowly take him away from the game, jerking and twitching as it went. " A jinx…" I said.

I immediately began to search through the stands for anyone that was paying close attention to Harry. As soon as I pointed the binoculars in the direction of the teachers' stands I automatically caught sight of Quirrell wringing his hands together and staring hard at Harry without blinking. I slowly put down the binoculars and glared. "What's wrong Alma?" Aelita said as she caught the malicious look on my face.

"Don't worry about that but I need you to look at Harry and start saying a counter-curse." I said and by that time people had started to take notice of Harrys' broom and it's behavior. I handed the binoculars back to Hagrid as I jumped down onto the stands below and began the trek towards the professors' bleachers. As I finally reached it and was pulling out my wand I was bumped by Hermione, "What are you doing here?"

"Professor Snape is jinxing Harry's broom! I have to stop him." As she began to pull out her wand I put my hand on her arm to stop her, "It wasn't Snape, it was Quirrell." She shook her head, "But professor Quirrell couldn't do something like this. He's so…"

"I know but trust me it isn't Snape." I walked forward until I was level with the bottom of Quirrells' robes, "_Serpensortia." _I whispered as a long black snake shot out of my wand and begin to slither up Quirrells leg. "Now we run." I said as I grabbed the sleeve of Hermione's robes and began to run back to our place in the stands. We only got about two steps about before we heard a shrill high-pitched scream erupt from behind us. I immediately began to run faster as Hermione panted and struggled to keep up with me.

As we returned to our places Jordan Lee's voice rang out over the arena, "Harry Potter has caught the snitch! Gryffindor wins!"

Afterwards Ron, Hermione, Harry, and I returned to Hagrid's hut for a cup of tea. I was just in the middle of taking the kettle off of the fire and pouring the boiling water in with the tea bags at the same time discussing with the others who exactly had jinxed Harry's broom. "I'm telling you guys! Did you even look at Quirrell? Of course you didn't because if you did you would of seen Quirrell doing the exact same thing as Snape was doing."

"All o ye' are mental. Snape an Quirrell are professors 'ere they ain't gonna do somethin' to jeopardize that." Hagrid said from his large chair in the corner, Fang lying at his feet.

"He tried to get past the three headed dog on Halloween and it bit him. We think he's trying to steal whatever it's guarding." Harry says. I slammed the kettle down on the table and glared at each of them, "How do you three know about Fluffy?"

"_Fluffy?"_

"Yeah he's mine. Hagrid gave him to me when I was eight for my birthday. You know whenever you're a kid and the only thing you want is a dog? Well the only difference is my dog had three heads." All three of them looked at me like I was mental all the while Hagrid was nodding. "Lent him to Dumbledore to guard the—"

"Yes…?" Harry said eagerly.

Hagrid shook his head quickly, "Top secret that is." And made a motion of zipping his lips shut. "But Snape's trying to steal it!"

"Snape is a Hogwarts teacher, and I'm sure if he was doing something shady Dumbledore is already aware of it. You guys are eleven, please don't take it upon yourselves to defend whatever it is that my dog is or isn't guarding." I said exasperated as I eyed my uncle out of the corner of my eye.

Hermione then spoke up again, "I know a jinx when I see one and Snape wasn't blinking!" Just then Hagrid exploded, "I'm tellin' yeh yer wrong! Snape wouldn't try an steal nothin'. Yer all meddlin' with things that don't concern ye, ye need to forget that dog an forget what it's guardin'. What that dog's guardin' is between Dumbledore and Nicolas Flamel—"

"Aha! So there's someone named Nicolas Flamel involved, is there?" Harry exclaimed. As Hagrid grew angry with himself I began to grow curious as well as to what he was hiding but I should have realized there is some truth behind the saying, "Curiosity killed the cat."

**And there you are. Some of you may have realized that I'm actually doing this story chapter by chapter from the books and if you were a huge fan you'd know that the mirror of desire or erised is next and there really isn't a place for Alma to jump in so I'm going to be kind of skimming over that chapter and possibly going straight to chapter 13 which is Nicolas Flamel. **

**Anyways favorite, follow, review, and whatnot.**

**Until next time!**


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